The Witcher 3 is more popular on Steam now than on its launch day

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt released in 2015 and has been a stalwart of the top games on Steam ever since, but never has it been more popular than it is right now. If you head over to Steam Charts, you can check out the concurrency numbers for the action RPG, with it hitting around 92,000 at launch. That has now been beaten, with it hitting 94,601 players in December, up from 26,594 in November.

Why’s that? Well there’s probably two reasons right now. The most obvious is the ubiquity of the Netflix Witcher series which has launched to acclaim both from fans of the series and enthusiast press (though it must be said, a mixed reaction from mainstream press). The other reason is that this has coincided with a hefty discount for the game and its expansions, meaning it’s a perfect storm of cultural and financial momentum.

Of course, it helps that most of the Western world is on holiday right now, and a meaty RPG is a great way to fill the time before returning to school or work. Even more so, it’s a perfect way to escape family. We all have our limits.

It seems right now it’s hard to move online without bumping into something Witcher-esque, be it memes of Cavill or the near-universal catchiness of in-fiction bard Jaskier’s rendition of ‘Toss a Coin to your Witcher’.

Alex "Theoban" McHugh is a massive RPG and classic gaming fan, recently though he's become consumed by The Elder Scrolls Online. He's also a devoted Warhammer 40k player, hoping to take his beloved Word Bearers to victory. At least, once would be nice. Follow Alex on Green Man Gaming here.